1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to the field of water well filters.
2. Description of Prior Art
In certain geographical areas, aquifer layers containing water exist beneath the surface layers of the earth. Wells may be provided to access the aquifer layers and a filtering device may be inserted into the well to extract and filter the water in the aquifer layers. Water from the aquifer layers naturally contain a substantial amount of particulate matter. Such water when satisfactorily filtered and extracted can be used for a number of beneficial purposes.
Screened metal pipes have been used to filter water in wells. Metal pipes, however, tend to be heavy which presents a problem for workers who have to manually insert and lower the pipes into the wells. Metal pipes also deteriorate quickly in the water well environment, which can lead to weakness in the vertical pipe column. As a result of prolonged contact with water, detritus may develop and cause the metal to rust, allowing bacteria to develop and contaminate the water.
Screened plastic pipes have also been used to filter water in wells. However, both plastic and metal filters consist of pipes attached end to end to form a single conduit having only a single wall between the exterior and the interior of the conduit. Thus, the single-walled filters tend to allow particulate matter in the water which are smaller than the size of the screen to pass through into the water distribution system inside the filter.
Significant water flow into the pipe is important since the water will have to be moved up along the pipe. Typically, this is accomplished with a pump disposed inside and at the bottom of the pipe. If insufficient water flows into the pipe, the pump will be unable to move the water up along the pipe to its intended destination. To increase water flow, more screens can be formed into the pipes. However, creating more screens will weaken the pipe and decrease its longevity.
Therefore, what is needed is a water well filter that:
1) is lighter so that workers can more easily use the filter; PA1 2) will last longer than current filters; PA1 3) will allow significant water flow throughput without compromising filter strength; and PA1 4) will filter fine particulate matter in the water.